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Louisiana Alligator

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Submitted by SusieSugarfoot

Louisiana alligator with boudin cream sauce: flour-dusted alligator medallions flash-sauteed and plated on cornmeal cakes under a bourbon-flamed boudin sausage cream sauce. Authentic Cajun fine dining.

YIELD

4 servings

PREP

15 min

COOK

15 min

READY

30 min

This is Louisiana fine-dining plate territory, the kind of dish that shows up at a Commander’s Palace or Brennan’s menu. Thin alligator medallions sear in 10 seconds a side (they cook that fast, any longer and they toughen), then get plated on griddle-fried cornmeal cakes and smothered in a cream sauce built with sliced boudin sausage flamed with bourbon.

Boudin is the key ingredient, a Cajun pork-and-rice sausage you won’t find outside Louisiana easily. The rice inside the casing gives the sauce body; the pork fat brings richness; the seasoning is already perfect. Sliced and simmered in cream, it’s a shortcut to restaurant-level complexity.

Flame-lighting the bourbon (flambe) burns off the raw alcohol and leaves behind toasted, caramel notes. A compound butter (traditionally made with shallots, garlic, and parsley) melted into the sauce adds another layer of aroma.

The whole dish plates dramatically: golden corn cake on the bottom, pale alligator medallions, speckled cream sauce on top, and bright green scallion garnish.

Chef Tips

  • Pound alligator thin and cook quickly. It turns rubbery almost instantly if overdone.
  • Ignite the bourbon carefully and use a long-handled lighter; keep a lid nearby in case the flames climb.
  • Source boudin from a Cajun market or order online; regular breakfast sausage won’t deliver the flavor.
  • Keep the corn cakes warm; cold cakes ruin the plate temperature.

Variations

  • Substitute chicken breast or pork tenderloin for alligator if it’s not available.
  • Use andouille in place of boudin (different but complementary).
  • Skip the flambe and deglaze with bourbon + chicken stock for a safer home version.

Ingredients

12 346.8
OUNCES ML/G ALLIGATOR MEAT
pounded thin *
8 231.2
OUNCES ML/G BOUDIN SAUSAGE *
2 57.8
OUNCES ML/G ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
seasoned with salt & pepper
2 57.8
OUNCES ML/G VEGETABLE OIL
1 28.9
OUNCE ML/G BOURBON WHISKEY
4 115.6
OUNCES ML/G HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM
16 462.4
OUNCES ML/G CORN CAKE BATTER *
12 346.8
OUNCES ML/G BUTTER
compound
4 115.6

Directions

Pound alligator into 12 to 1 ounce medallions.

Heat saucepan with oil.

Lightly dredge medallions in flour and sauté in hot pan for 10 seconds on each side.

Remove from pan and hold on heated plate. Slice sausage in to thin pieces and place in saucepan.

Cook for 1 minute, add bourbon and flame.

Add compound butter and melt it while swirling pan.

Add cream and whip until smooth.

Make 8 3-inch cornmeal cakes on griddle.

On heated plate put corn cakes in middle.

Put cooked alligator on corn cakes and ladle 3 ounces sauce with sausage over all.

Sprinkle with sliced green onions for garnish.

* not incl. in nutrient facts Arrow up button

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 153g (5.4 oz)
Amount per Serving
Calories 868 96% from fat
 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 92g 142%
Saturated Fat 52g 258%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 220mg 73%
Sodium 497mg 21%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 2%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Sugars g
Protein 5g
Vitamin A 53% Vitamin C 4%
Calcium 5% Iron 3%
* based on a 2,000 calorie diet How is this calculated?
Trans-fat Free, Low Carb, Sugar-Free
 

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